


Lies and Smiles

by thedarkstrangeson



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Deceit Sanders Has a Different Name, Deceit Sanders-centric, Gen, Kinda, Monologue, Morally Neutral Deceit Sanders, Unsympathetic Morality | Patton Sanders, deceit as happiness, ethan!deceit, hes trying his hardest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:41:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22095049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedarkstrangeson/pseuds/thedarkstrangeson
Summary: A ficlet inspired by this quote:“What have I eaten? Lies and smiles.” -Sylvia Plath, The JailerA monologue by Ethan “Deceit” Sanders. He and Patton have some beef.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	Lies and Smiles

Once, they called me Happiness.  _ Ha _ , they didn’t know what they had. I was good at being joy. Whenever Thomas felt sad, I would tell him things were alright and he would go back to playing. It’s magical, the effect  _ belief _ has on a child. If they believe that things are alright, things tend to be alright. If a kid gets hurt, you give them a bandaid and everything is better. Band-aids heal not because they close wounds and numb pain, but because the kids believe they make the hurt go away. So, I made Thomas happy. I told him he was happy, together we believed it into existence and the world was bright. 

Of course, this could never last. "Morality" wouldn’t let it last. Middle school rolled around and he decided that Thomas wasn’t truly happy, he was just pretending. He put doubt in Thomas’ mind and the poor boy started to lose his grip on happiness. Patton took it from him, took it from  _ us _ . He couldn’t see that it wasn’t pretending, that my belief made it real. Thomas’ happiness was  _ there _ , couldn’t he just let him have that joy? Never.

Morality decided that the only true happiness Thomas could have was from him. From doing “good deeds” and helping people. Putting others above himself. Personally, I don’t buy into that. Thomas is happiest when he is doing things for himself, making his own enjoyment in life. He must take care of his own interests if he wants to get any ounce of satisfaction out of existence. Contentment is hard to come by, and always chasing after what others want is not the way to get it.

Middle school was dark.

Since then, we’ve struck a “balance”. Thomas gets to do some things for himself, and Morality makes him do everything else for others. If I were any more powerful I could fix this, but Ol’ Patty-cake keeps me pretty locked up these days. He’s given me a new nickname, as I’m sure you’ve heard.  _ Deceit _ , he calls me. Close, but no cigar. That’s not my purpose, lying to others. Of course, I  _ can _ , and it’s been useful before, I won’t deny it. It’s fun to play into, leaving them all trying to decipher what is true and what is false, where I put the lie in my words and where is the truth they just don’t want to believe _. _ Ah, about that. Have you gotten it yet? What purpose I really serve? 

I won’t make it hard. I am Belief. The world exists because people believe it does. Things happen because people believe they must. I have  _ power _ . I held back the others purely by helping Thomas believe they didn’t exist. I help him convince others to believe his opinions, his lies, his stories. I make him believe what he must believe, to help him get through it. To make things real by pure force of will. To make him happy. He deserves to be happy. 

And, dear Patton? Stop calling yourself Morality. It doesn’t suit you. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you're interested in more, my tumblr is @thedarkstrangeson.


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